JP2007115600A - Separator for fuel cell, its conveying method, and conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to convey a sheet after sheet of separators for a fuel cell temporarily piled at a manufacturing process or the like of a fuel cell. <P>SOLUTION: In the conveying method of conveying piled separators 2 for the fuel cell by absorbing them sheet by sheet, gas is supplied in a gap 9 between an uppermost separator 2A and another separator 2B positioned under the separator 2A, in absorbing the uppermost separator 2A. The gap 9 is formed by a sealing part 8 set in protrusion on the separator 2 for sealing at least either a reaction gas flow channel or a fluid manifold formed at the separator 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a separator that constitutes a part of a fuel cell, a transport method thereof, and a transport device.

  For example, a solid polymer electrolyte type fuel cell has a fuel gas (hydrogen etc.) channel and an oxidizing gas (oxygen etc.) channel on one side of a membrane-electrode assembly (hereinafter referred to as “MEA”). A single cell, which is the minimum power generation unit, is sandwiched between a pair of separators, and a fuel cell stack is formed by stacking a large number of the single cells.

In such a fuel cell manufacturing process, there has been proposed an automatic supply device that automatically supplies stacked fuel cell separators one by one to a conveyance path. For example, as a method for transporting separators, a method is adopted in which separators are taken out from stacked separators one by one with a suction pad.
JP 2005-166385 A

  However, on one or both sides of the separator, a bead-shaped seal portion may be formed for the purpose of sealing the gas flow path or the fluid (fuel gas, oxidizing gas, cooling water) manifold. When the seal portion is crushed by the weight of the stacked separators, a tack force is generated and the separators are bonded to each other. For this reason, another separator may be adhered to the separator adsorbed by the adsorption pad, and a plurality of separators may be conveyed simultaneously.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to more reliably transport, for example, fuel cell separators temporarily stacked in a fuel cell manufacturing process or the like. To do.

  The fuel cell separator transport method according to the present invention is a transport method in which the stacked fuel cell separators are adsorbed and transported one by one, and a medium is supplied to a gap between adjacent separators. A step of separating them.

  According to this configuration, by supplying a medium (for example, air or other gas) to a gap between the separators, for example, a gap formed by a seal portion protruding from one or both sides of the separator, Rises, the adjacent separators are separated (separated).

  In the method for transporting a fuel cell separator according to the present invention, the gap is formed by a seal portion projecting from the separator to seal at least one of a fluid flow path and a fluid manifold formed in the separator. It may be a thing.

  According to this configuration, the separator can be pulled apart against the tack force generated between the seal portion and the separator in the stacked state.

  In the method for transporting a fuel cell separator according to the present invention, a recess may be formed in advance on the outer peripheral surface of the separator and extending inward in the surface direction, and the medium may be supplied from the opening. The recess extends, for example, so as to cross the seal portion in the plan view of the separator.

  According to this configuration, the gap region formed between the separators is desired, for example, by extending the tip of the recess to the inside of the portion surrounded by the seal portion so that the medium can be supplied to the gap corresponding to the portion. It becomes possible to supply the medium to the position.

  The method for transporting a separator for a fuel cell according to the present invention may include a step of adsorbing the separator while pressing the separator adsorbing surface against the adsorbed surface of the separator while pressing the separator.

  According to this configuration, by adsorbing the separator adsorbing surface against the adsorbed surface of the separator, the edge on the outer side in the surface direction from the center of the adhering surface of the separator is opposite to the pressing direction (separator separating direction). Are bent (deformed) to separate the separators.

  A separator conveying device according to the present invention is a conveying device that adsorbs and conveys stacked fuel cell separators one by one, and places a medium in a gap between an adsorbing portion that adsorbs the separator and an adjacent separator. A medium supply unit to be supplied.

  According to this configuration, when the separator is sucked by the suction portion and separated from the other separator, the medium is supplied to the gap between the separators, for example, the gap formed by the seal portion protruding from one or both sides of the separator. By supplying a medium (for example, air or other gas) from the part, it is possible to increase the pressure in the gap and separate the separators from each other.

  In the separator transport device according to the present invention, the suction part may be provided with a separator suction surface that is capable of coming into contact with and separated from the stacked separators and is inclined with respect to the surface to be suctioned of the separator.

  According to this configuration, when the separator suction surface is pressed against the surface to be attracted to the separator, the edge on the outer side in the surface direction from the center of the surface to be attracted of the separator is curved in the direction opposite to the pressing direction. It becomes possible to separate them easily.

  The separator for a fuel cell according to the present invention is a separator that constitutes a part of the fuel cell, and has a recess that opens in the outer peripheral surface of the separator and extends inward in the surface direction. The recess extends, for example, across the seal portion in a plan view on a surface opposite to the surface on which the seal portion protrudes.

  According to this configuration, when the separators are separated and conveyed one by one from the stacked state, the medium can be supplied between the separators through the recesses, so that the separators can be easily separated.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to more reliably attract and convey the stacked separators one by one, thereby improving productivity.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 shows a separator conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment. The separator transport device 1 shown in the figure includes a suction pad (suction part) 3 that sucks the stacked separators 2 from the top one by one, a suction mechanism (not shown) that applies negative pressure to the suction pad 3, and a suction pad 3. A drive mechanism (not shown) that drives in a predetermined direction, an air pipe (medium supply unit) 4 that supplies air (medium) between the separators 2 and 2, and a blower mechanism (medium supply unit) that sends air to the air pipe 4 ), And a control unit 5 for controlling these mechanisms.

  The suction pad 3 sucks the separator 2 by the negative pressure generated by the suction mechanism. The suction pad 3 is moved toward and away from the separator 2 by the drive mechanism, and is sucked by the suction pad 3. The separator 2 is transported to a predetermined transport destination (for example, a transport jig).

  When the suction pad 3 sucks the uppermost separator 2, the air pipe 4 includes the uppermost separator (hereinafter referred to as “2 </ b> A”) and another separator (hereinafter referred to as “below”). In the state where the opening 4a is positioned so that air can be blown from the outer peripheral direction (side) of the separator 2 with respect to the gap 9 formed between the suction pad 3 and the suction pad 3. It is fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the separator 2 includes a fuel gas manifold (fluid manifold), an oxidizing gas manifold (fluid manifold), a cooling water manifold (fluid manifold) 6, and a fuel gas flow path (fluid flow path) 7. A sealing portion 8 is formed so as to project in a bead shape on one side for the purpose of sealing the oxidizing gas passage (fluid passage) and the cooling water passage (fluid passage).

  In the state where the separators 2 are stacked, as shown in FIG. 2B, the separators 2, 2... Are stacked through the gaps 9 formed between the separators 2, 2 by the seal portion 8. It has become.

  The separator 2 is transported by the separator transport device 1 of the present embodiment as follows. First, the suction pad 3 is sucked to the uppermost separator 2A among the plurality of stacked separators 2. In this state, the opening 4a of the air pipe 4 faces the gap 9 between the uppermost separator 2A and the second-stage separator 2B below the uppermost separator 2A. Next, air is blown from the air pipe 4 toward the gap 9.

  That is, a gap 9 is formed between the uppermost separator 2 </ b> A and the second separator 2 </ b> B with the seal portion 8 interposed therebetween, and air is supplied to the gap 9. When air is supplied to the gap 9, as shown in FIG. 3, the pressure in the gap 9 rises due to the fluid resistance in the air flow path formed between the seal parts 8, and the seal part 8 is removed from the separator 2B. A pulling force (arrow line) is generated. Therefore, the second separator 2B is separated from the uppermost separator 2A, and only the uppermost separator 2A is conveyed to a predetermined position.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively avoid the separator 2 being conveyed by being overlapped with each other by the tack force of the seal portion 8 (or two or more sheets), and thereafter It is possible to prevent a plurality of separators 2 from being conveyed in the process. Therefore, productivity can be improved.

Second Embodiment
In the fuel cell separator according to the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4A, a groove (concave portion) 10 is formed in the outer peripheral surface 2a of the separator 2 and extends inward in the surface direction. ing. As shown in FIG. 4B, the groove 10 is provided across the seal portion 8 provided in the other separator 2 to be stacked. That is, a part of the groove 10 extends so as to cross the seal portion 8 on the surface opposite to the surface on which the seal portion 8 is protruded in a plan view of the separator.

  Further, the tips of a part of the plurality of grooves 10 (two in FIG. 4A) are formed until they reach the inside of each region surrounded by the seal portion 8. With this configuration, air can be fed through the groove 10 to the gap 9 located inside the region surrounded by the seal portion 8 when stacked.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, not only the pressure in the gap 9 formed between the seal portions 8 but also the pressure in the gap 9 located inside the portion surrounded by the seal portion 8 can be increased. As a result, the seal portion 8 can be more easily separated from the separator 2B.

<Third Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 5A, the separator transport device 20 according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a separator suction surface 23a of a suction pad 23 that sucks the stacked separators 2 one by one from the top. The separator 2 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the attracted surface 2c. Since other configurations are the same as those in the above embodiment, the same reference numerals are used and description thereof is omitted.

  The separator 2 is transported by the separator transport device 20 of the present embodiment as follows. First, the suction pad 23 is sucked to the uppermost separator 2A from among the plurality of stacked separators 2.

  At this time, since the suction pad 23 is inclined with respect to the suction surface 2c of the uppermost separator 2A, if the separator suction surface 23a is pressed against the suction surface 2c of the separator 2A, the suction pad 23 is covered with the separator 2A. While the central portion of the suction surface 2c is recessed so as to be convex in the pressing direction, the edge 2d on the outer side in the surface direction is curved (deformed) in the direction opposite to the pressing direction.

  Due to this curvature, as shown in FIG. 5B, a force is generated in the uppermost separator 2A to separate the seal portion 8 from the second separator 2B. Therefore, the second separator 2B is separated from the uppermost separator 2A, and only the uppermost separator 2A can be conveyed to a predetermined position.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the separator 2 can be effectively prevented from being transported by being overlapped by the adhesive force of the seal portion 8 to overlap two sheets (or two or more sheets), and thereafter It is possible to prevent a plurality of separators 2 from being conveyed in the process. Therefore, productivity can be improved.

<Fourth embodiment>
In order to determine whether or not the suction pads 3 and 23 of the separator conveying devices 1 and 20 are sucking two or more separators 2, the control unit 5 may be configured as follows. In addition, although shown below about the example applied with respect to the said 1st Embodiment and each other embodiment, you may apply to the conventional separator conveyance apparatus. Moreover, the same code | symbol is used about the structure similar to the said 1st Embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 6 shows a control flow executed by the control unit 5 according to this embodiment. First, the uppermost separator 2A is sucked by the suction pad 3 (step S1). In this state, as described above, the opening 4a of the air pipe 4 faces the gap 9 between the uppermost separator 2A and the second separator 2B, and air is blown into the gap 9 (air blow). (Step S3).

  As a result, the second separator 2B is separated from the uppermost separator 2A. In step S3, instead of performing air blowing, as described in the third embodiment, the separator suction surface 23a of the suction pad 23 is pressed while being inclined with respect to the suction target surface 2c of the separator 2A. It may be adsorbed.

  Next, the adsorbed separator 2A is placed at a predetermined position of the transport destination (step S5). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not two separators 2 are sucked and conveyed as follows (step S7). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, a height h corresponding to the thickness of two sheets of the separator 2 above the separator 2 </ b> A placed on the conveyance jig 30 from the upper surface 30 </ b> A of the conveyance jig 30. The separator suction surface 3a of the suction pad 3 is positioned at the position, and suction processing by a suction mechanism is performed.

  At this time, if the separator 2 is adsorbed to the adsorption pad 3, the control unit 5 can detect the generation of negative pressure. Therefore, when such negative pressure is detected, it can be determined that two sheets (separators 2A and 2B) have been conveyed simultaneously, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when only one separator 2A is conveyed, the separator 2 is not adsorbed to the adsorbing pad 3, so that no negative pressure is generated.

  In this manner, the control unit 5 determines whether or not negative pressure is generated when the separator suction surface 3a of the suction pad 3 is positioned at a height h from the upper surface 30A of the conveyance jig 30 and suction processing is performed. This makes it possible to detect that two separators have been conveyed. Of course, it is possible to detect conveyance of three or more sheets by appropriately changing the height h.

  If it is determined in step S7 that only one separator 2A has been conveyed (step S7: YES), it is determined whether conveyance for all separators 2 has been completed (step S9). If not completed (step S9: NO), the process returns to step S1 and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, when all the conveyance is completed (step S9: YES), the conveyance process of the separator A is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S7 that two separators 2 have been taken out (step S: NO), the user is alerted by, for example, issuing an NG alarm (step S11), and placed on the conveyance jig 30, for example. Then, abnormal reset processing is performed such that one of the two separators 2 is manually taken out and returned to the original stacking place, and the process returns to step S1.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the separator 2 can be effectively suppressed from being bonded by the seal portions 8 and being conveyed by being overlapped by two sheets (or two or more sheets). Even if the sheets are conveyed, the determination process of step S7 can be performed to more reliably prevent the problem that the two separators 2 are conveyed while being overlapped in the subsequent process.

It is the schematic of the separator conveying apparatus shown as 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically about the schematic structure of a separator. It is a figure shown about the state by which air was sent between separators by the separator conveying apparatus by this embodiment. It is the schematic plan view and perspective view of the separator in which the recessed part was formed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the case where a separator is adsorbed using the separator conveying apparatus shown as 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a control flow which implement | achieves the conveyance method which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing shown about the case where adsorption | suction of two separators is detected with the conveyance method.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Separator conveyance apparatus, 2 ... Separator, 2a ... Separator outer peripheral surface, 3 ... Adsorption pad (adsorption part), 4 ... Air piping (medium supply part), 5 ... Control part, 6 ... Cooling water manifold (fluid manifold), DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Fuel gas flow path (fluid flow path), 8 ... Seal part, 10 ... Groove (recessed part), 20 ... Separator conveyance apparatus, 23 ... Adsorption pad, 23a ... Separator adsorption surface

Claims (8)

A transportation method for adsorbing and transporting stacked fuel cell separators one by one,
A method for conveying a separator for a fuel cell, comprising a step of supplying a medium to a gap between adjacent separators to separate both separators.   2. The fuel cell separator according to claim 1, wherein the gap is formed by a seal portion projecting from the separator to seal at least one of a fluid flow path formed in the separator and a fluid manifold. Transport method.   The method for transporting a fuel cell separator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a recess is formed in the separator in advance on the outer peripheral surface and extending inward in the surface direction, and the medium is supplied from the opening.   The method for transporting a fuel cell separator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a step of adsorbing the separator adsorbing surface while pressing the separator adsorbing surface against the surface to be adsorbed of the separator while pressing the separator. A separator conveying device that adsorbs and conveys stacked fuel cell separators one by one,
An adsorbing part for adsorbing the separator;
A separator transport device comprising: a medium supply unit that supplies a medium to a gap between adjacent separators.   The separator conveyance device according to claim 5, wherein the suction unit is capable of coming into contact with and separating from the stacked separators, and includes a separator suction surface inclined with respect to a surface to be suctioned of the separator. A separator constituting a part of a fuel cell,
A separator for a fuel cell having a recess that opens in an outer peripheral surface of the separator and extends inward in the surface direction. In order to seal at least one of the fluid flow path and the fluid manifold, a seal portion protruding on one or both sides is provided,
The fuel cell separator according to claim 7, wherein the recess extends across the seal portion in a plan view on a surface opposite to a surface on which the seal portion protrudes.

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